The present invention relates to safety pressure relief devices and, in particular, to rupture disc assemblies, including reverse buckling rupture discs, and also to methods of manufacturing such rupture discs and assemblies.
Rupture discs have been known in this art for many years. Normally, the rupture discs are manufactured to have a rupturable membrane to provide a safety mechanism to relieve excessive pressure within an over-pressurized system or vessel. The rupture disc and or rupture disc assemblies are typically placed within such a system or vessel so as to prevent the flow of a liquid or a gas through such a device until the rupture disc ruptures through excessive or over-pressure loads. Typically, rupture discs have a score pattern formed by cuts, machined or by other conventional methods into the dome portion of the disc to enable the disc to buckle and to burst when under excessive pressure.
Rupture discs having support rings providing cutting projections have been used, but are restricted in use, being capable of use with gases only and sometimes restricted in pressure range.
Obviously, if a rupture disc assembly could be developed which had better operating characteristics, including the ability to be used within a gas and or liquid environment capable of low and or high burst pressures, all without reducing the economic viability of such discs, there could be a wider application for the use of rupture discs assemblies.